People who stay in hotels and motels are familiar with what are commonly known as "do not disturb" signs. Such signs are typically small rectangular paper or plastic signs which may be hung on the outside handle or doorknob of the door of a hotel guestroom to indicate that the guest staying in that room desires privacy. Typically, one face of such a sign will bear the words "do not disturb", or something to that effect, and may bear a symbol representing this sentiment.
Also familiar to hotel guests are similar signs which might be called "maid service" or "housekeeping" signs, which, when placed on the outer side of the hotel room door, indicate to the housekeeping staff of the hotel that the guest desires the room to be "made up" (the bed linens changed, the bathroom tidied, towels replaced, etc.). Such a sign is often hung out by the guest upon leaving the room for an extended period of time so that the room might be made up before he or she returns to the room.
In most hotels, a combination sign is used, one side of the sign showing "do not disturb", and the other indicating "housekeeping" or "maid service".
While such signs have been used in hotels for decades, they have certain disadvantages which the invention described herein overcomes. One such disadvantage is that such signs may be lost or misplaced, so that a guest may not be able to hang it outside of the door when desired. Such signs also become damaged and so require periodic replacement at considerable expense. Such signs also require that the hotel door be opened to hang the sign outside, where it is visible. It may in fact be inconvenient for the guest, or otherwise undesired by the guest, to open the hotel room door to hang the sign outside, especially when the guest is seeking privacy. It may in some instances be dangerous to do so. If the hotel guest has decided not to place the sign outside the door due to inconvenience or danger, there is a risk that the guest will be disturbed by an unwanted intrusion.
A further disadvantage of the current "do not disturb" signs is that they are subject to being interfered with by vandals or jokesters. A sign displaying "do not disturb" can be changed to "maid service please", or completely removed, by a stranger as a joke or act of vandalism, without the knowledge of the occupant of the room, with the result that again the hotel guest will likely be disturbed by an unwanted intrusion.
Another disadvantage of such signs, which is overcome by one embodiment of the current invention, is that they can be read only from a location quite close to the room in question. A maid cannot tell from a distance which rooms are available to be made up, and must walk to the vicinity of each room. The current signs cannot indicate directly to the central housekeeping office, for example, that a room is ready to be "made-up"; a housekeeper must discover this for his or herself by walking past the room and noticing the sign.
While reference is made herein to hotel rooms and hotel guests as the occupants of such rooms, it will be apparent that while the invention is particularly suited to hotels and motels, it has application to any private room for temporary or permanent lodging which requires periodic servicing, such as hotel rooms, motel rooms, hotel apartments, private rooms in hospitals or rest homes, and apartments in senior citizen homes. Where a reference is made herein to a hotel guest or occupant therefore, it is intended that such reference also applies to any temporary or permanent occupant of any such rooms, including a staff member of the hotel who may wish to leave an indication of the status of the room.